Mary Fitzgerald (b. 1933)
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Mary Fitzgerald (b. 1933)

10.0020.00

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Mary Fitzgerald (née Dunne) was reared on the foothills of Caherconree on the Dingle Peninsula, and she recalls her young days collecting barnacles, periwinkles and carrageen moss from the sea shore nearby. The local people of Camp and the local dancehall, known as Camp Hall, are recalled, and she explains that her grandfather, Mick Dunne, lived in a thatched cottage at Knockglassmore in Camp. She recalls and describes his craft of flannel weaving. Many stories relating to Camp Junction are told, and Mary says that the place was always known as Castlegregory Junction in earlier days because the railway line branched off at Camp to journey on to Castlegregory. The Stationmaster was Jack O’Leary who was always known as a railway buff, and Mary was delighted to receive memorabilia from him for the bar following her marriage to Paddy Joe Fitzgerald. The bar was always run by the women, she explains. Earlier the place was known as Mary Knightley’s bar, and in her own time as Mary Dunne’s. A full description of the lay-out of the junction is provided: the narrow-gauge railway, the corrugated buildings, the distance between the buildings and the width of the road. The roaring trade conducted in the two public houses, the other house being O’Neill’s, is recalled. The highlight of the year was the Sheep Fair Day, which has been revived in recent years, and Mary recalls the mutton pies she would bake for sale in those days. She mentions the fact that Lord Ventry had his own stone wall enclosed pen beside the Junction Bar. She finishes by discussing emigration from the locality and the Irish Countrywomen’s Association.

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Additional information

Type:

Disk, MP3

Audio series:

Tralee-Dingle Narrow Gauge Railway Collection

Bitrate:

128 kbps

Download time limit:

48 hours

File size(s):

66.1 MB

Number of files:

1

Product ID:

CDTDR01-04

Subject:

camp-junction

Recorded by:

Maurice O'Keeffe – Irish Life and Lore